Beyoncé crowned pop queen of the century, Swifties miffed
The music portal Billboard has proclaimed Beyoncé the "Greatest Pop Star of the Century." Fans of Taylor Swift saw this as yet another slight from the site.
On 4th November, the music portal Billboard announced Beyoncé as the "greatest pop star of the century." Many believe this title should have been awarded to someone else. The Swifties, Taylor Swift’s most dedicated fans, are expressing their dissatisfaction loudly across all social media platforms. Their favourite was ranked second on the list.
Beyoncé "Star of the Century" by Billboard
The reaction of the Swifties is no surprise to anyone; for them, Swift is number one in every regard. Billboard was also mindful of this, dedicating much space to the idol of the Swifties even in the article announcing Queen Bey's victory. Billboard justified its choice: "While Taylor Swift is the century's biggest pop star by the numbers — from album sales to streams to touring dominance — our editorial staff has chosen Beyoncé as our No. 1 Greatest Pop Star of the Century, based on her full 25 years of influence, evolution and impact."
Awarding the title to Beyoncé is not controversial to everyone. The artist first reached the top of the Billboard charts back in the year 2000 as a member of the trio Destiny's Child. She achieved this success 11 more times, most recently in February 2024 with the track "Texas Hold' Em." Beyoncé is not only blessed with extraordinary vocal talent but continues to evolve and surprise audiences, never falling short of the highest vocal and musical quality.
Billboard has crossed Swifties once again
Billboard has been on the Swifties' blacklist since 27th November 2024, when a video summarising Taylor Swift's career, relating to her presence on the "greatest pop stars of the century" list, appeared on the portal’s Instagram. The video included a snippet from Kanye West's "Famous" music video, made during the singer's conflict with the rapper, which featured a wax figure of Swift.
Swift’s fans were outraged by the use of material. On 28th November, Billboard issued a statement on social media about the issue. The portal stated: "We are deeply sorry to Taylor Swift and all of our readers and viewers that in a video celebrating Swift’s achievements, we included a clip that falsely depicted her. We have removed the clip from our video and sincerely regret the harm we caused with this error."
This explanation did not convince the Swifties. It is hard to disagree that this material should not have been reproduced by a music portal.
